Lecture 5: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
When does a panic attack happen?
When the fear response occurs in the absence of an obvious external danger
What is vicarious conditioning?
Observing a phobic person behaving fearfully with their phobic object can result in fear being transmitted from one person to another.
What is prepared learning?
When primates and humans are evolutionarily prepared to associate certain objects with frightening events
Are there biological causal factors to specific phobias?
Genetic and temperamental variables affect the speed and stregth of the conditioning of fear. Some behaviour genetic studies suggest a modest genetic contribution
What happens in exposure therapy?
In participant modelling, the therapist calmly models ways of interacting with the phobic stimulus. Can use VR
What is the cognitive theory of panic?
Proposes that people with panic disorder are hypersensitive to their bodily sensations. Tendency to catastrophise about the meaning of bodily sensations
What is interoceptive conditioning?
A process where the body learns to react strongly to certain sensations
What is anticipatory anxiety?
Where a person starts fearing the possibility of a panic attack happening again
How long does antidepressants (SSRIs) take before having any beneficial effects?
4 weeks
What is interoceptive exposure?
Deliberate exposure to feared internal sensations
What is anxiety sensitivity?
A trait-like belief that certain bodily symptoms may have harmful consequences
What is social anxiety disorder?
Characterised by excessive, persistent, disabling fear of 1 or more specific social situations consistently.
What are the 2 subtypes of social anxiety disorder?
- Performance
- Nonperformance
What is the most important temperamental variable for social anxiety disorder?
Behavioural Inhibition
What is behavioural inhibition?
Characterised by heightened caution, fear, or withdrawal in response to novel situations, unfamiliar people, or new environments, often linked to increased sensitivity to potential threats and a higher risk of anxiety disorders.
What is cognitive restructuring?
Therapist attempts to help client identify their underlying negative thoughts and change them
What is GABA?
Neurotransmitter related to brain’s inhibition of anxiety
